Instead of explaining things clearly, its latest statement was more of a moan at the people who have taken umbrage at their handling of the affair

England cricket chiefs continued their
ham-fisted handling of Kevin Pietersen’s sacking as they revealed he was axed because he is not trusted by skipper Alastair Cook.

In a further piece of David Brentery from the men at Lord’s, the ECB released another statement tonight trying to give more insight into their controversial decision.

But
instead of explaining things clearly, it was more of a moan at the people who have taken umbrage at their handling of the affair – and of the decision itself.

The ECB and boss Paul Downton have been taken aback at the vitriol from many who follow the game. And they appear more interested in hitting back at the keyboard warriors on social media, rather than deal with the rather simple job of dropping a player.

The statement read: “The England team needs to rebuild after the whitewash in Australia.

“To
do that we must invest in our captain Alastair Cook and we must support
him in creating a culture in which we can be confident he will have the
full support of all players, with everyone pulling in the same direction and able to trust each other.

“It is for those reasons that we have decided to move on without Kevin Pietersen.

“Following
the announcement of that decision, allegations have been made, some from people outside cricket, which as well as attacking the rationale of
the ECB’s decision-making, have questioned, without justification, the integrity of the England Team Director and some of England’s players.

“Clearly what happens in the dressing room or team meetings should... not be distributed to people not connected with the team.

“This is a core principle of any sports team, and any such action would constitute a breach of trust and team ethics.”

It is clear that the twitter attack from TV celebrity Piers Morgan on vice-captain Matt Prior – revealing what he said in a team meeting – has hit a nerve.

The implicit suggestion is that Pietersen has been the man dishing out what they consider to be state secrets.

If only they could take a step back and appreciate it is a cricket team they are looking after and not a nuclear warhead.